INDIVIDUAL VARIABILITY OF TISSUE TEMPERATURE PROFILE IN THE HUMAN FOREARM DURING WATER IMMERSION

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of a range of water temperatures (Tw from 15 to 36C) on the shape of the tissue temperature profile of the resting human forearm at thermal stability. Tissue temperature (Tt) was continuously monitored by a calibrated multicouple probe during 3 hours immersion of the forearm. The probe was implanted approximately 9 cm distal from the olecranon process along the ulnar ridge. Tt was measured every 5 mm, from the longitudinal axis of the forearm (determined from computed tomography scanning) to the skin surface. For all temperature conditions, the temperature profile inside the limb was linear as a function of the radial distance from the forearm axis (p 0.01) when the temperature data were averaged for the different groups at each water temperature tested. However, interindividual variability regarding the shape of the temperature profile was observed. TRUNCATED